Member Highlight: Winona Ice Park

Below is a contribution from GMPT Member the City of Winona. For more information, please visit cityofwinona.com.

This seasonal park—dubbed the Winona Ice Park—has quickly become one of the largest manufactured ice climbing parks in the nation. With approximately 90-100 routes ranging between 30’ to 100’ high, there are plenty of options for beginners and advanced climbers alike. But you don’t need to be a climber to visit this park. Hikers have also enjoyed the 20-minute hike up to the park to simply gaze upon the beautiful ice formations and immerse themselves in a wintery wonderland.

The Winona Ice Park is one of three manufactured ice climbing parks within the state of Minnesota, the other two being Robinson Park in Sandstone and Quarry Park in Duluth. Besides amazing ice, these parks all have one thing in common—the labor of love that goes into making the ice and the volunteers who make it happen. The City of Winona is fortunate to have a great partnership with a local organization, the Recreation Alliance of Winona, which has a formal agreement with the City to create the ice park and maintain the trails within the park. Their volunteers—affectionately known as Ice Farmers—spend hundreds of hours in the bitter cold to ensure their water system is working efficiently, that they are making great, quality ice, and the park is safe for everyone.

That system runs approximately 1800’ from a hydrant to the start of the quarry. From there, they use 130 showerheads and multiple shut-off valves to control the water, which runs another 800’ along the length of the quarry. The water slowly showers down the rock face, and after about two weeks of turning the water on and off and meticulous farming, there is usually enough ice to open the park. The Ice Farmers will monitor the condition throughout the season and turn the water on again if the ice needs to be built back up.